AP PSYCH - Learning Vocab

Ivan Pavlov

Studied dog’s digestive systems and found putting food in dog’s mouth caused them to salivate, also at the sight of food. He realized this pointed to fundamental form of learning.

B.F. Skinner

Modern behaviorism’s most influential and controversial figure. Developed behavioral technology that revealed principles of behavior control

Classical Conditioning

a type of learning in which we link two or more stimuli; as a result to illustrate with Pavlov’s classic experiment, the first stimulus (a tone) comes to elicit behavior (drooling) in anticipation of the second stimulus (food)

Extinction (classical conditioning)

the diminishing of a conditioned response when an unconditioned stimulus does not follow a conditioned stimulus

Stimulus Discrimination

in operant conditioning a stimulus that elicits a response after association with reinforcement

Stimulus Generalization

in classical conditioning, the tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses (in operant conditioning, when responses learned in one situation occur in other, similar situations)

Spontaneous Recovery

the reappearance after a pause, of a weakened conditioned response

Operant Conditioning

a type of learning in which behaviors become more likely to recur is followed by a reinforcer or less likely to recur is followed by a punisher

Negative Reinforcement

increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing aversive stimulus. Any stimulus that, when removed after aa response, strengthens the response (not a punishment)

Positive Reinforcement

increasing behaviors by presenting a pleasurable stimulus. Any stimulus that, when presented after a response, strengthens the response

Positive Punishment

teaches discrimination among situations (did the punishment effectively end the child’s swearing? Or did the child just learn not to swear in front of their parents?)

Extinction (Operant conditioning)

when a response is no longer reinforced

Shaping

an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior

Schedule of Reinforcement

the rules that determine how often an organism is reinforced for a particular behavior. The particular pattern has an impact on the pattern of responding by the animal. Is either continuous or partial

Partial Reinforcement

reinforcing a response only part of the time; results in slower acquisition of a response but much greater resistance to extinction than does continuous reinforcement

Continuous Reinforcement

reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs

Law of Effect

Thorndike’s principle that behaviors followed by favorable (reinforcing) consequences become more likely, and that behaviors followed by unfavorable (punishing) consequences become less likely.

Learning

the process of acquiring through experiences new and relatively enduring information or behaviors

Latent Learning

learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it

Aversion Therapy

a behavioral therapy used to decrease the frequency of a habitual behavior by pairing it with an adversive stimulus

Reflex

a simple, automatic response to a sensory stimulus such as the knee-jerk response

Observational Learning

learning by observing others (aka social learning)

Learned Helplessness

the hopelessness and passive resignation humans and other animals learn when unable to avoid repeated aversive events

Taste Aversion

if sickened after sampling new food, you later avoid it (our predispostion to associated an effect with a preceding event)

Negative Punishment

taking away something desirable or enjoyable to decrease the likelihood of a particular behavior reoccurring